Ross jobs on the line as Serco centre loses Westminster contract
HUNDREDS of Ross-shire jobs are hanging in the balance after the shock loss of a major contract that is set to see a local employer pull the plug on its local premises.
Around 270 full- and part-time employees at Serco’s base in Dingwall Business Park face an uncertain future following the loss of a contract with Westminster City Council to provide a variety of outsourced local authority functions.
As partner agencies yesterday swung into action in a bid to limit the impact of the impending jobs blow, a veteran local councillor admitted: “A black cloud is hanging over the place today.”
Call centre staff in Dingwall have for several years been handling a variety of functions — including parking ticket enforcement — on behalf of the London-based local authority.
This week, it emerged that two other companies — NSL Ltd and Agilisys — would be taking over parking services and customer services functions respectively. Serco says staff will transfer across to these two new organisations but the future of the positions remains very much in doubt. It’s understood the contract change kicks in this November.
Serco spokesman Luke Allen told the Journal: “We are working closely with the two new providers to ensure a smooth transfer, and in addition are providing further help and support for staff at this difficult time. Any questions regarding next steps will need to be directed to Westminster City Council or the new providers.
“Staff at the centre will transfer across to the new providers. Absolutely every effort has been made to assess the potential opportunity to fully optimise the site through other areas of our work, including new and existing contracts located in Scotland and north of the country, in order to support the contact centre.
“Unfortunately, due to a number of factors, we have been unable to achieve this aim.”
He said: “Staff will transfer across to the new providers in the next few months, and from the outset every effort has been made to keep staff and their trade unions informed at all times.”
Asked how many local staff might be kept on under the deal, he said: “This is a question for Westminster City Council or the new providers.”
Neither NSL Ltd nor Agilisys returned calls yesterday.
Melvyn Caplan, Westminster City Council cabinet member for finance, corporate and customer services, told the Journal: “Two of Westminster City Council’s key customer service contracts expired this year which meant, like any local council, we were legally bound to put the contracts out to tender.
“After an exhaustive process, we found that NSL and Agilisys offered the best deal for our residents. We know that this will have come as bad news to many Serco employees who have worked so hard on the Westminster contracts in recent years. We thank all of them and hope as many as possible will be able to carry on their good work with the new contracts.”
An employee at the Dingwall site said the news had devastated many who have worked there for years. Some families have several members working there.
It’s understood around 110 members of staff work on the parking contract. It’s believed NSL Ltd is looking into taking on a number of those although the exact details of how that might work are not known.
Dingwall and Seaforth councillor Margaret Paterson said: “This is devastating. The workforce there has been brilliant down the years and done a great job. A real black cloud is hanging over the building today. It has been one of the main employers in the area for years. We’ll do all we can as a council to assist. These are local people who spend in local shops and on local services.”
Highland Council is part of the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) group. It has this week staged initial discussions with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, JobCentre Plus and Skills Development Scotland. The council has confirmed to Serco that it can offer employability advice, business support, money advice services, employee-employer workshops and other similar events as required.
It’s understood the group is due to meet again formally within two weeks.
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